~ The lofty side of this is that I am a mom on a mission. I am striving to create a better world by being the best, most inner-directed mother I know how to be. The other side of this is that I became a mom… on purpose. Meaning, I chose this. But man, it can be hard.

Tag Archives: new experiences

Yesterday we had a new kind of fun: watching our kids participate in a local event by the Arts Council called the Battle of the Brushes. Each artist was given one canvas, a palate of primary colour paints, and 20 minutes to create their masterpiece. It was set up in heats – 20 people per round – and open to all ages and abilities. (To my surprise, it was mostly adults, including professional artists (!).) Ethan and Audra were definitely the youngest painters there, by quite a bit – and apparently not phased by that at all (which I thought was pretty cool.)

The atmosphere was like a fair, with live music, vendors, food and spectators – and the ‘main event’ in the middle: rows of easels standing ready for the artists.

Audra was in the first round, meticulously painting her trees with care, and with a level of concentration that was magical. Amidst several questions of “how old is she?” (fielded by me – we didn’t want to disturb the busy artist!), she kept on painting, with only the occasional little frown when her strokes turned out differently than she had anticipated. But she held wonderfully true to our reminder that with 20 minutes – little mistakes or imperfections would have to be ignored – and just keep painting!

Watching Ethan was a little more nerve-wracking for me, as his attention to detail is always meticulous. He mixed and remixed his colours, looking for that ‘perfect shade’ (although I’m pretty sure I heard him comment to himself something to the effect of ‘but of course mixing colours is hard… I’m colour blind!’) But he, too, just kept going. I could see the astonishment on his face when he heard the announcement for the final few minutes – and if I could see into his mind, I’m quite sure the elaborately detailed painting that I would see there was not yet completed on the canvas. His first reaction following the call of: “5-4-3-2-1 ‘painters put down your brushes” was to wilt a little – clearly wishing he had more time. But with a deep breath and a brave smile – helped no doubt by the congratulations of onlookers – he quickly perked up.

Each heat was then followed by a voting session by all in attendance, where each artist got to witness their ballot boxes fill with votes for their artistry. Eyes wide, Ethan and Audra excitedly reported that they were getting lots of votes. And their paintings then went on display for silent auction. (“Mom, Dad – will you buy my painting?!” we were frantically asked.) Audra decidedly wanted to own hers, and Ethan was decidedly resolved to finishing his. Next, they excitedly (and somewhat incredulously) reported that ‘someone else wanted their paintings!’. With some surprise we checked the sheets – and it was true: we had been outbid on both of their paintings.

At the end of the day, we left the event – having pledged $60 on our own kids’ paintings. (all of which goes back to support the South Simcoe Arts Council, I might add). But even better, we left with happy kids, who felt both accomplished and inspired to create – and who are already talking about converting an area of our music room in the basement into an art studio. And while that may come with some mess – in the spirit of creativity and creating avenues of artistic expression – why not?!

Like this:

All extracurricular activities at our school have been cancelled for this year because of politics involving the teachers. As I have had to deal with the kids’ justified disappointment on this issue, I jumped at the opportunity last week to let the kids go to a cross country competition for their first time, as it was being organized independently of the school. I was grateful to my dialed-in friend for seeing this event in the paper, which ended up being a great experience for both moms and our four kids.

Ethan’s Race: It came as somewhat of a surprise to Ethan I think, that his race proved harder than anticipated. He crossed the finish line with a long face (which I thought was because his best friend had won by a long shot…which I must say was awesome!) But no, it was because he threw up part way through the race. So my post-race cheering switched tactics to: “Hey – you puked, kept on going, and still did awesome!” He didn’t seem to think that showed character, no matter what I said. (And he couldn’t fathom the concept of possibly being sick from the exertion) Thankfully, after a short while had passed, his attitude – and possibly his nausea – had greatly improved, and his opinion of the event evolved into: “It was awesome!!”

Audra’s Race: The girls ran a shorter race, but still far longer than either had ever ran before. Audra was pretty pleased with herself. I had to laugh when she excitedly called her dad, exclaiming: “Daddy, Guess What?!?! I WON 9th PLACE!” As the kids crossed the finish line, they were handed a numbered popsicle to keep track of the top three runners in each race. I have no doubt that in true pack-rat style, she will keep the popsicle stick she got upon crossing the finish line – claiming it is “special” (which to her, of course, it is)

Our friends: I was privy to a pivotal moment for my friend and her kids – who willingly offers that her kids tend to squabble, and have the art of bugging, whining and pushing each others’ buttons down to an art form. (Although in public I have seen no great indication of this) Her daughter – much like Audra – is somewhat of a diva – and has never competed in anything requiring a similar level of exertion. Despite their daily differences, her brother took it upon himself to run the race with his sister, coaching and encouraging her every step of the way. (According to the kids, she was going to stop running, but her brother kept her moving) I missed witnessing this unforeseen display of sibling support, but even as a friend felt very moved at the pictures that so clearly showed proof of awesome (and unexpected) sibling support. I just know that if that were me, this day would go into my mommy memory banks as one of those moments to call forth when times get tough.

As for me, I find that there are little lessons and moments in every day if we take the time to notice them. I like knowing that if you polled all of us, our high points and memories of the day would all be quite different. From puking (and persevering), from 1st place to 9th place, in my mind, it was all good.

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The lofty side of this is that I am a mom on a mission. I am striving to create a better world by being the best, most inner-directed mother I know how to be. The other side of this is that I became a mom.... on purpose. Meaning, I chose this. But man, it can be hard.

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The lofty side of this is that I am a mom on a mission. I am striving to create a better world by being the best, most inner-directed mother I know how to be. The other side of this is that I became a mom... on purpose. Meaning, I chose this. But man, it can be hard.